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Dear Mr. President,

Please do not sign Act S. 447! It openly discriminates against Polish Holocaust survivors and constitutes an unprecedented attack on Poland, a faithful ally of the USA in Europe.

Act S. 447 legitimizes the illegal and immoral restitution claims against Poland. The so-called “restitution of heirless property”, a concept which carries a clear contradiction in terms, is against the Western legal tradition and against the existing law. In all Western countries, the US included, “heirless property” escheats to the state.

Due to the fact that before WWII Poland had the largest Jewish community in Europe, a lot of properties belonging to the Jews who perished in the WWII were located in Poland. As a result, Poland is the main target of that Bill.

According to the 1960 Treaty between the communist government of Poland and the United States, Poland compensated American nationals whose assets had been nationalized by the Polish government. The treaty included an indemnification agreement, which was intended to shield Poland from any future compensation claims. Signing Act S. 447 into law would violate the terms of the 1960 Polish-American Treaty.

Poland has resorted to various means to return properties to their rightful owners. Thousands of people with legitimate title claims – regardless of their ethnic origin – have recovered their properties through the court system pursuant to the existing property law.

Poland suffered horribly during WWII. Poland lost 3 million ethnic Poles and 3 million Polish Jews and experienced physical destruction like no other European country. After the war, Poland was placed under the brutal Soviet rule for over forty years.

The enforcement of Act S. 447 could have a financially devastating effect on Poland. The weakening of Poland would not be in the best interest of the United States.